We’ve said it before: Edmonds Driftwood Players — one of the oldest community theater groups in the state — continues to step up its game, attracting loads of fine actors to its stage.
Currently, Driftwood has taken on the 2006 Tony award-winning musical “The Drowsy Chaperone.” The cast, musicians and crew accomplish this big project with much aplomb.
On opening weekend, the packed houses gave the fast-paced, funny show standing ovations (which at most community theaters happens only when family members are in the audience).
“The Drowsy Chaperone” is a play within a play, and a few times they comically blend together.
As the houselights go down, a man in a chair appears on stage right. He talks directly to the audience, as if we are there in his apartment, which probably nobody ever visits. Nevertheless, the man wants to share with us the cast recording of his favorite musical, “The Drowsy Chaperone,” a show he has never actually seen.
The recording comes to life right there in that dingy apartment, with characters entering through the fridge doors and exiting into the bathroom or bedroom. Man in Chair, on our side of the fourth wall, provides a running commentary.
The plot — a parody of American musical comedy of the roaring 1920s — incorporates mistaken identities, dream sequences, spit takes and big anthems.
The characters include an absent-minded hostess and her butler Underling, a ditsy flapper girl, gangsters posing as pastry chefs, an aviatrix, a misguided Don Juan, a bumbling best man, the tipsy (thus drowsy) chaperone for a young actress on the eve of her career-ending marriage to a young oil tycoon, and a desperate Broadway producer there to stop the wedding so he can keep the actress in his show.
The musical — written by Lisa Lambert, Don McKellar, Bob Martin and Greg Morrison — is directed by the talented Pauls Macs, with great music direction by Mark Press.
Patrick J. Lucey-Conklin does a fine, believable job as the sad and lonely Man in Chair.
The returning (to Driftwood) talents of Jennifer Price as the hostess Mrs. Tottendale, Terry Boyd as Underling, Laura McFarlane as a maid, Sydney Kaser and Sephanie Kroschel as the gangsters, Jake Fiang as the tycoon and Jeff Strom as Feldzieg the producer are at the core of the show.
Newcomers are Andee Albert as the energetic flapper girl named Kitty, Lara McLeod as Trix the sexy aviatrix, Gabe Pionce as the goofy best man and the delightful Lindsey Meyer as the young actress Janet Van De Graaff.
Ensemble players include Anne Arnhold, Sage Cameron and Griffin Price.
Stage veteran Jay Vilhauer as Adolpho the Latin lover got most of my husband’s laughs. And Tamara C. Davis showed off her extensive talents as the drowsy chaperone.
The musical is on the boards through Mother’s Day, so get your tickets now.
“The Drowsy Chaperone”
Performances are 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday through May 14 at the Edmonds Driftwood Players’ Wade James Theatre, 950 Main St., Edmonds. An ASL interpreted performance is offered May 6. Tickets are $25 general, $22 senior, junior, military. Call 425-774-9600. Tickets for the next season are available at edmondsdriftwoodplayers.org/2017-2018-season.
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